I'm in the same boat here in So Cal!
Here's what I do...
10+ gal batch...
I pump from Boil to my 50'coil which is in my HLT. HLT has 2 bags of ice and water which is being recirculated by 2nd pump over coil. Total cooling water used is about 10 gallons. Wort ends in fermenter at about...
Gave this a try today.
Used my portable jumper box as the battery and instead of a Qtip, I used a tobacco pipe cleaner which worked way better than the Qtip, I assume because of the metal wire in the center. Just had to make sure to fold the tip over or it actually arced and welded to the...